Book Description

John Calvin was arguably the most influential of the sixteenth-century Reformers. His supporters praise his transformative influence on the ecclesial, political, and economic spheres of modern life, while his detractors paint him as a ruthless proponent of theocracy. These conflicting images suggest there is more to Calvin than meets the eye. In Calvin for the World, Rubén Rosario Rodríguez offers a creative engagement with Calvin's theological and political thought and a critical reclamation of the Reformer's legacy. Rosario Rodríguez presents Calvin's theology in historical context and explores his global impact by examining his views on a broad range of social and cultural issues, including those that pertain to political theology, migration and dislocation, nationalism, social welfare policies, revolution, racism, and religious pluralism. This book shows how Calvin's theological legacy impacted the formation of the modern world, its worldview, and its social institutions and presents Calvin as an engaging interlocutor on contemporary matters of social, political, racial, and economic justice. This book will be ideal for professors and students of theology for use in courses on Calvin, the Reformation, and church history. It will also be of interest to pastors and church leaders.